Steve Bradford

Candidate Response - 2 of 8

This article is part of a multi-part series introducing candidates who are running for the position of insurance commissioner in California. Eight candidates responded to three questions posed by Journalist Don Jergler.

View All Responses

Democrat Steve Bradford, an education organization board member, previously served in the California State Senate, the state Assembly and on the Gardena City Council. His plans include addressing transparency in insurance pricing, creating rewards for risk mitigation, addressing insurance availability and fixing the FAIR Plan.

Q: How do you feel about the direction of the state’s insurance market?

Bradford: Honestly, I’m concerned—and I think the industry is too. Traveling across California, I’ve heard from homeowners who did everything right and still lost coverage, but I’ve also listened to insurers who feel the regulatory framework hasn’t kept pace with the real cost of climate risk. They’re both right.

Since 2019, over 100,000 Californians have lost home insurance, and carriers have exited markets they can no longer price accurately. That’s not a villain story—that’s a broken system that isn’t working for anyone. What I want to build is a framework where accurate risk pricing, market stability, and consumer affordability can coexist. That’s a harder problem than pointing fingers, but it’s the only one worth solving.

Q: What changes will you make if elected?

Bradford: My focus will be on building a regulatory environment where insurers can operate sustainably and consumers are genuinely protected—because those goals aren’t in conflict.

First, I support modernizing how we assess and price risk. Carriers need to use forward-looking catastrophic modeling that reflects today’s climate reality, and the regulatory process should move at the speed that requires.

“I bring a legislative record on environmental policy and consumer protection, but I also understand that a commissioner who treats the industry as an adversary will accomplish very little.”

Steve Bradford

Second, I’ll push hard for a real risk mitigation credit system—giving insurers the data and confidence to re-enter markets where homeowners and communities have invested in resilience. Reduced risk should mean expanded coverage.

Third, I’ll work to stabilize the FAIR Plan so it functions as a true transitional market, not a growing liability. A healthier private market is the goal, and I want to partner with the industry to get there.

Q: What separates you from the other candidates?

Bradford: I approach this office as a problem-solver, not a prosecutor. Traveling the state, I’ve heard from carriers, agents, consumer advocates, and homeowners—and what strikes me is that most of them want the same thing: a market that works. I bring a legislative record on environmental policy and consumer protection, but I also understand that a commissioner who treats the industry as an adversary will accomplish very little.

The real work is creating conditions where insurers can price risk accurately, invest in California with confidence, and still reach the working families and communities that need coverage most. That takes relationship-building, regulatory clarity, and a willingness to make the hard calls—not just the popular ones. That’s the kind of commissioner I intend to be.

Compiled by Don Jergler, West Coast Editor of Insurance Journal